by Smith, Skye
The scream was from Margaret who had Lucy protectively in her arms, and was being dragged along the floor by her hair by a fourth man. He loosed the arrow. The man let go of Margaret’s hair as the power of the arrow knocked him to his knees. Raynar started to leap towards Margaret, but in mid step he changed direction. Edgar's broomstick had just been sliced in two.
Raynar swung his bow with every muscle in his body and lashed it across the back of the knees of Edgar’s assailant. The man lost his balance and lost his advantage over Edgar as he tried to stay standing. This man was an expert swordsman, and Raynar was near useless with his sword. He yelled to get Edgar’s attention and then drew his thin Syrian sword and lobbed it to Edgar in one smooth motion.
Edgar could not see to catch it in the poor light, but it took him but seconds to reach it and turn it on his assailant. Again Raynar looked towards Margaret and Lucy, but the man lying beside them was not moving. A blood curdling scream from behind him froze him in mid step. He turned expecting the worst. Expecting one of Edwin or Morcar to be horribly wounded.
The Earls were still standing. The scream came from Edwin's assailant. He had a sword blade completely through his midsection from back to front. Holding the sword was the giant Klaes, who was lifting the man off his feet using just the sword. Meanwhile, Morcar, the more warrior-like of the two brothers, had used the shocking scream to his advantage and did a quick parry and thrust and plunged his own sword through the mouth and teeth of his assailant.
Raynar heard a warning in Frisian to duck. It was a word he had learned the hard way on board ship when a boom came over. He dropped to the ground and something whizzed by just over his head. He hit the ground and rolled to get closer to Margaret. There standing above Margaret, was Edgar’s assailant frantically trying to reach the dagger that was sticking out of his back.
Edgar’s sword hand barely twitched and the Syrian steel slit the man's throat. Christina crawled out from under some bedding and pulled Margaret and Lucy away from the spurts of the man's blood. Edgar mule-kicked the man away from his women. The Frisian who had thrown the dagger reached down and helped Raynar to his feet. The inhuman screaming suddenly stopped and a strained silence settled on the room.
Klaes ordered the two other Frisians to guard outside the door and wave all comers away. "If they don't go away tell them you have my permission to kill them.” No sooner had the order been given and the men closed the door, than they disobeyed this order.
Beatrice came through the door with a handful of candles set in one holder. She looked with dismay at the carnage in her personal quarters. She put a hand to her mouth to stifle a noise, and took a deep breath. Klaes let go of his sword, and the body still attached to it slumped to the floor. He took the candle holder from Beatrice and held it high so the light reached every corner of the room. Beatrice saw her daughter with the two women huddled at the far end and went to them, grabbing handfuls of linen as she moved. She sat with them and used the linen to create some privacy for them.
"Are they all dead?" asked Klaes. "It would be nice if one survived long enough to talk to us."
Morcar responded. "Mine is still alive, barely, but he won't be doing any talking even if he survives. The rest look very dead." He looked down to something at his feet. "Now they are all dead."
"They are your men Edwin?" asked Raynar.
"Edgar's," replied Edwin, "his personal bodyguard."
"I wonder what they were promised?" moaned Edgar.
"There are others dead outside," said Raynar.
"I will look," said Morcar as he climbed over bodies and around the blonde giant. He took one of the candles from the holder as he passed. He was back in a minute. "Three dead. The guard I have had since I was a child, and Edwin’s two."
Edgar was bent over searching under a collapsed bed. He finally stood up with another sword. He walked to Raynar and handed back the Syrian blade. "That blade is a miracle."
Raynar agreed absent mindedly. He walked over to the three women and pulled each to their feet. "Klaes, Edgar, these women need a man's arms around them for comfort.” He lifted Margaret into his own arms. "Let us get them out of this charnel house. I am taking Margaret to the warmth of the kitchen. If we are lucky there will be the smell of fresh bread."
Klaes bent down and lifted Lucy and then wrapped an arm around Beatrice. Edgar brought Cristina and his mother. Raynar yelled to the Frisians on guard that he was coming out, then opened the door with his foot. There were now a half dozen on guard.
"We are going to the kitchen," he told them. "Someone fetch Gerke and a few of his men to us."
Raynar walked carefully towards the kitchen with Margaret curled into his chest. He kissed her above her eye, and whispered calming words to her. The kitchen was empty save for the baker who had just fired the ovens. The rotund woman pulled a long bench away from the wall so he could sit on it.
Margaret stayed in his arms and on his lap and relaxed into his shoulder. The baker was almost exploding with curiosity, but kept her peace; that is until Klaes walked in cradling Lucy and with Beatrice on one arm, closely followed by Cristina and Agatha.
Raynar caught her eye. "Go about your baking as usual. If you need help we would be glad of it. It would keep our minds off other things."
Gerke came into the kitchen and reported that there had been no new fire arrows, and so he had sent all the drunk and sleepy men from the gate to their beds. Klaes described the fight in the north house. The upshot was that now the Earls and the women were without personal guards.
Gerke looked at Klaes and Beatrice. "I will organize a guard for the Earls."
"They must all be Frisian," interrupted Raynar, "I want no others in the guard." He looked at Edgar. "Anyone who came with you from London is suspect. That only leaves the Frisians or Beatrice's men. The Frisians are warriors."
Beatrice left Lucy on Klaes's lap, and turned to Gerke. "Gerke, please ask my horse master to attend me here." She turned to Klaes. "He and the stable hands can take the bodies to the stables and lay them out, and then clean the gore from my rooms as best they can."
She then turned to Edgar "This is my home. Thorold will be angry about the treachery done here today under this roof. Until the Normans replace him, he is still the Shirereeve of Lincolnshire, so he must report it officially to the King's court." Her face was flushed with anger. "His duties keep him busy in Lincoln, but he keeps a constable in Spalding for the port. At first light I will send for the man, and for the church cleric."
Gerke waited until she had finished, and then left to organize the bodyguards. Raynar wanted to leave Margaret in the warmth and fragrance of the kitchen, while he did the rounds of all the buildings. Margaret refused to be separated from him. Their first stop, therefore, was to return to the carnage and find her clothes. Edgar followed them. Edwin and Morcar were keeping close watch on the personal possessions in the room while the stable hands were clearing it of bodies.
Their next stop was the smaller room of the same house, where the rest of the women had made their beds. There were two Frisians leaning beside the door flirting with Anske. The Frisians waved. No problems there.
They continued around the courtyard. The gate was guarded by non-Frisians, but there were two Frisians with bows on the roof on each side of the gate. They signaled that everything was calm.
At the stable, Beatrice's men were laying the bodies out in a row on the floor. Raynar pointed out the bodies of the three faithful guards and asked that they be treated with the respect they deserve. He thanked the men for leaving weapons in the hands of the dead. As they continued their rounds they saw that Gerke was not taking chances. Not only were there Frisians on the roof, but now there were Frisians at each door in the courtyard. As they walked back to the kitchen, each one they passed signaled that there were no problems.
The baker had put everyone in the kitchen to work. Even Agatha had flour up to her elbows as she kneaded dough. Margaret and Raynar did not go in. They continu
ed to the great hall, and found a quiet corner, and fell asleep, despite the excited chatter of the women cleaning the hall in readiness for the new day. They woke only once, when Beatrice placed a sleeping Lucy between them.
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The Hoodsman - Frisians of the Fens by Skye Smith Copyright 2010-13
Chapter 16 - The love of a princess in Spalding in March 1068
The constable of Spalding and the village priest arrived just as the morning meal was being cleared. He bowed low to his lord's wife, and asked her permission to start an inquest into the extraordinary events of the past day. Beatrice encouraged him. Most of the people involved were in the room already. Those at the head table moved down to the benches in front of it, and the Constable and the Priest replaced them at the head table.
The priest unrolled a scroll and prepared his pen and ink. He listed the names of the wealthy people present, and then started to record the important points that tracked the attacks on the lords from the Karvi at sea until the fight in the manor. Most of the men in the room had not realized how close the Earls had come to death.
Once the main story had been recorded, the constable, the priest, the Countess, and the Earls went to inspect the bodies laid out in the stables. Their names were also recorded and the assailants distinguished from the defenders.
In the hall again, anyone who wished to speak was encouraged to.
Through the whole of the proceedings Margaret sat close beside young Raynar, her body touching his. When it was her turn to speak she stood and spoke in a shaky voice. "I woke when Raynar was whispering to Klaes. When he left, Klaes took his place at the door. Beatrice was also awake and she threw on a cloak and followed Raynar. Klaes went with her.
I lay there mere moments and decided to follow Raynar as well. I remember clasping my cloak as I got to the door, which was open. One of the guards pushed me back into the room and I opened my mouth to scold him for his roughness, and instead he grabbed me and smothered me with is hand. I kicked him and tried to break his grasp, so he punched me here," she pointed to her upper stomach, "and I could no longer breathe or talk.
I wanted to scream but I had not the breath. I fell over the end of a bed, and it must have been Morcar's bed because I remember seeing Morcar swinging his arms like a wild man and calling for help. Then everyone was fighting. I saw Edgar holding two men off with a stave, so I crawled along the ground and rolled into the back of their legs to try and trip them. One tripped over me, and he got up and grabbed Lucy. I grabbed her too so he grabbed my hair and dragged us away from Edgar. Then he seemed to jump sideways and then he dropped to the floor. He left go of my hair and was pulling at an arrow that had pinned his arm to his chest. The rest was as it was as has been told already."
Once there were no more speakers, the Constable asked, "Did anyone overhear, or suspect these men of planning this attack on their oath lord?" No one responded. "Then I have one witness to add to these proceedings." He waved to his man at the door, and a prisoner was dragged forward to the deputies' bench. "This man was caught by some village men yesterday while trying to steal a pig. He was not known to the men, and at first they thought he was with one of your ships because he was dressed for the sea."
The prisoner was pushed to his knees. He moved stiffly and in pain. His face was bruised and crusted in blood. "I have questioned the prisoner, and he has admitted that he was crew on the Karvi that attacked the Earl's ship, and that the same crew had planned to shoot fire arrows at the manor. He was caught before dark, so he was not party to that attack." He looked down at the prisoner. "Do you confirm that this is a true statement?"
The prisoner said, "It is true, sire."
"This means that the attack on the ship and the attack on the manor are parts of the same attack. Does anyone have any questions for this man?" He looked to the Earls first. "Lord Edwin, you may begin."
Edwin had many questions, but the man knew nothing. He was just a seaman following his captain's orders.
Once everyone had asked their questions and had their say, the Constable had the last say. "A plot to kill Prince Edgar has been discovered, and other than knowing of the plot, we know nothing else. I will not speculate on who planned or paid for the plot, other than it was from London, as the prisoner has told us that the Karvi followed the Cog down the Thames on the same tide.
We must all be satisfied with the knowledge that the plot has failed, the assassins with access to the Prince are now dead, and the raiders that tried to fire the Manor must have fled when the firing did not work. Each of the Earls has sword cuts from the fight, but none deep. Lady Margaret was beaten, but has no cuts."
The constable looked around for comments. There were none. "I will have this scroll copied and sent to my lord Thorold in Lincoln. He will be duty-bound to forward it to the King. The King will not be pleased. First one of his sheriffs falls to an assassin in Peterburgh, and now three of his Earls have fought off multiple assassins in Spalding."
Raynar did not look at the constable and hoped he was not looking at him. He stayed in the hall until the Constable had said his goodbyes and was leaving the gate. Margaret stayed with him. She whispered into his ear, "Hereward has warned me to stay away from you. He says you are a king-killer on a quest. He told me that you killed King Harald of Norway, and that you will die young trying to avenge Harold of Wessex."
"I cannot deny it, but he should not have told you. Promise me to keep my secret until you hear that King William is dead." He looked into her eyes until she responded.
"I will keep your secret, even from my brother." She sighed. "Please come north with us in the Cog. My brother would pay you well to protect us. We can be together, we can be as one. There, I have said it."
Raynar held her hand gently. "You would cause Edgar to have me killed. You refused a convent because of your womb. You must refuse me for the same reason."
She buried her face into his neck and sighed. "You sound like my mother. All my life I have known that my role is to be married for political gain, and then to pump out lordlings. I fled to a convent to escape such a marriage. I would rather be your peasant wench, than the wife of a noble pig."
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The Hoodsman - Frisians of the Fens by Skye Smith Copyright 2010-13
Chapter 17 - Karvi and the Treasure in April 1068
The constable's man motioned them to all get down low and then motioned Klaes to come and see. Klaes peered out from the bush for some time, and then motioned for young Raynar to come forward to him.
"Are they within the range of your bows?" Klaes asked as he pointed.
Raynar pushed a branch slowly out of his way so he could see. The Karvi that had attacked Edgar's big cog was floating in a slough behind the thick bushes along the shoreline. Behind it, on a dry spit between sea and slough, the crew had made a camp. These would be the men who had been lobbing fire arrows at Countess Beatrice's manor.
It was a good camp and easy to defend because it was surrounded on three sides by deep water. The ship would be almost invisible from the sea, so if they kept their fires low, they could hide here for a long time. It was low tide, and yet the ship still floated on the slough, so the ship could not be trapped. Using the length of the ship as a rough measure, Raynar gauged the range to the men in the camp.
The constable's man was a local farmer. He had been able to escape this crew and report to the constable that a Norman crew had stolen his food, his animals, and his wife and daughter. He had escaped from them by running along the marsh paths that were invisible to those who did not live in the Fens. It was by using the same fen paths, that Klaes and his crew had come this close without being seen.
The constable had raised the local fyrd to drive the Normans back out to sea, but Klaes had told him to use the fyrd to guard the port instead. That the last thing the Frisian ship owners wanted was for a Norman Karvi to be patrolling the Wash.
Klaes finished counting t
he men. "Twenty and nine," he said. "So they have lost over a dozen since we first saw them in the Wash.
"We have twenty bows with us," replied Raynar. "They are within range of aimed shots, so our first shots should do for say, ten of them. Six or seven of us are good enough to get a fast second shot away, and everyone of those shots will count. By then, the ones still moving will be hiding from our bows behind the ship."
"Good enough," growled Klaes. "Call the bowmen forward and let's kill these bastards."
The onshore wind and the sound of the sea waves well covered their sounds, but they had to stay completely hidden until every bowman was in a line, and every one of them ready to stand, aim, and loose. They moved cautiously, being careful not to stir any of the bushes. By the time they were ready, everyone's knees were wet from crawling. Klaes's axemen had continued even further along the slough than the bowmen, to the corner of the slough where the bushes ended. They were getting ready to charge around the end of the slough and onto the spit where the camp was.
Raynar moved between the bowmen whispering instructions. He had almost finished when a girls scream was carried to them with the ocean breeze. The bowmen peered out under the leaves. Raynar hissed at the other men, "They are not in armour, so make every shot count. The big one humping the girl is mine and no one else’s. I don't want her hit by a stray arrow.
One my mark, one, two, shoot."
Twenty bowmen stood, put their backs into their bows, sighted, aimed and loosed. Now it wasn't a farmer's daughter who was doing the screaming, but the Norman crew. They had all dropped to the sand and some of them would never get up again. They were looking for the source of the arrows, and the smart ones were crawling along to put the ship between them and the archers. They were close to the ground, so the second arrows were not drawn fully, and were floated in a slight arch so they would end their flight rushing downward. More screams.
Klaes had taken his axemen to the right of the camp, and now that the arrows had done their maiming, and were keeping the Normans down low, the axemen charged. They ran, swinging their forest axes, one in each hand, running through the Norman crew without stopping until they had reached the other side of the camp, and then running back through them again.